King says U.S. is not going to default on debt

Iowa Congressman Steve King is taking issue with some of the political rhetoric surrounding the debate over the debt crisis. “There’s been a lot of misinformation that’s been put out there,” King said. “Our leaders in (both) parties, the president included, should drop the word ‘default’ from the dialogue.

The United States of America is not going to default on its debt.” King, a Republican from Kiron in western Iowa, backed the so-called “cut, cap and balance” plan that called for a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget. The Senate rejected the bill.

An August 2nd deadline is drawing near for lawmakers to reach a debt agreement. King says he disagrees with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner who said a deal on the debt ceiling is needed now to remove the threat of default during the political campaign season.

“Geithner says he believes Republicans are praying for a default. I don’t know any Republicans who would agree with that statement and I don’t know any Republicans who want to see default,” King said. “But we have to do something about our spending…the president’s determined to increase taxes and wants to continue spending. That’s the argument. It’s not about default and they shouldn’t talk about default.”

King says there’s enough money to pay for social security, Medicare and national defense and pay down the nation’s debt. But, he says it’ll require spending cuts. King made his comments in an interview with Radio Iowa over the noon hour today. He posted a message on Twitter saying President Obama “would be impeached” if he blocked debt payments and the nation falls into default.